Partners Blog
What's new @ Google? Tips and tools for agencies
Moving from integration to synchronization
Friday, October 26, 2018
Reading time: 3 minutes
Consumers are more digitally savvy than ever before, effortlessly bouncing across channels and brands, making up their minds as they go. In fact, 49% of users visit 2-4 websites before they decide to make a purchase.* So how can we make sure our marketing is on-brand and in-sync with our brand message across platforms? By amplifying and strengthening that message with synchronized marketing.
Marketing is a team sport - each message needs to be in tune with another to survive in the ever-evolving advertising ecosystem. Marketers need to start thinking beyond a single campaign, and more about ensuring our messages are in-sync with one another, and the overall brand message.
Simply put, it’s taking integrated marketing ideas and expanding on them with the consumer in mind. There’s no need to abandon your marketing strategies, because a simple tweak may be all that’s missing in your plan. Here are five areas you can fine-tune to make sure you’re nailing your marketing efforts every time.
Define your purpose
What do you offer your clients that others can’t? What problems are you solving and how? Define what makes you unique, and let that message be the anchor that keeps your brand message consistent throughout, even when you introduce new products.
Keep the dialogue going
Thanks to the evolution of social media, marketers can continuously engage with their audience to keep their brand front-of-mind. A conversation that starts on Facebook can easily spill over to Twitter, blogs, and other mediums, amplifying the message for your audience. Let your customers know you care by responding to comments, complaints, and questions quickly and compassionately across all platforms.
Sync up your various platforms
Digitally-conscious consumers often blur the line between online and offline, reality and virtual reality. When marketing is synchronized, all touchpoints feed off each other. The conversational nature of social media is a great way to kick off a campaign online and then use the promoted hashtag on print, out-of-home and video ads, seamlessly marrying offline and online marketing efforts.
Repurpose and recycle content
Create content that you can repurpose across multiple channels. 60% of marketers produce at least one new content piece every day,** but pumping brand new content can be expensive. However, a stimulating white paper can be condensed into a blog piece, excerpts of key learnings can be shared on social media with a link to download the full report, and you can feature it on a company podcast discussing similar topics.
Treat employees like brand advocates
Employees are the heart and soul of the brand and can act as a direct line to a broader audience. People are more aligned with their online profiles than ever before, and happy team members that are proud of what they do will sing about it from the rooftops across multiple platforms. And their reach is incredible - a recent study found that employees have on average ten times more connections than branded channels online.*** They are the messengers that can make or break your brand, so make them feel valued and appreciated.
Synchronized marketing is all about thinking beyond a single campaign, and making sure every message we send out harmonizes across all channels. It’s tougher than ever before to know how and where a customer will see your brand for the first time, so make sure you provide a consistent experience throughout your marketing efforts.
*Source: Gallup
** Source: WordStream
***Source: MSLGROUP
Marketing with podcasts
Thursday, October 11, 2018
Reading time: 5 minutes
The podcast industry is booming, so it’s no wonder savvy marketers are weaving them into their content marketing plans. They are a great way to reach your audience, and podcast listeners are also a loyal bunch: 80% will listen to a full podcast once they’ve started it, and 45% will follow calls to action after hearing them.*
With the marketplace experiencing a growth spurt and over half a million podcasts to choose from, there are no signs of podcasts losing popularity. But, it takes more than a microphone and an idea to attract such a highly engaged crowd. So, here are some tips on creating a podcast that survives the marketing ecosystem and stands out from the crowd.
Be remarkable
It can be tempting to follow in the footsteps of the podcast greats, but if you want to generate interest and excitement, you should venture off the beaten path and find your niche topic. To do that, become the market and start researching what’s already out there. Start with something that interests you. Show up in the comments on some of the podcasts that you find useful, listen to what could be improved, and participate in the forums. Once you gather all your insights, sit down and deep-dive into your findings - an opportunity will be hiding in there, you just need to listen for it.
Be committed and consistent
Team up with like-minded people who enjoy the same type of content, to ensure you are all aligned on tone, topics and what you want to achieve. Building up interest and listenership takes time and effort, so having people pulling in the same direction is key to getting across the finish line. Consistency is key, so commit to a schedule you are comfortable with and stick with it. To set expectations, make sure you post regularly and at the same time.
Take risks
Don’t be afraid to amp up your promotions or content to be heard. Recycling is great, but reciting the same old repertoire will only get you so far. However, this doesn’t mean that to succeed you have to reinvent the wheel and come up with something completely original. Instead of thinking brand-new, think better-new. Take something that’s already out there and put a spin on it; introduce a new way of looking at the topic, mix it up with a twist on delivery, or delight with a surprising host choice.
For example, the gaming podcast
What’s Good Games
is hosted by four female experts who are taking the predominantly male gaming industry by storm. The topic itself isn’t new, but the hosts’ unique insights put them at the top of the leaderboard.
Reward your listeners
Making your audience feel special and appreciated is a great way to encourage your audience to tune in to your podcast. So, reach out to them on social channels, and reward your audience with exclusive offers, content, and freebies. Shout outs and special mentions at the end of each podcast can also be an excellent incentive for people to stay tuned in until the very end, and it can help you connect with your listeners on a more personal level. Let them know that you’re listening to their thoughts, suggestions, and concerns. Not listening to feedback is the fastest way to isolate your fans, so ensure you’re actively taking notes on what’s working and what could be amplified.
Podcast promotion
Be loud and proud about your podcast! Learn where your audience lives online, to know how to reach them on channels they love to follow. Make sure to create a call to action - what is it that you would like them to do after listening to your podcast? Visit your website, download your e-book, subscribe to your newsletter? Choose one and sprinkle it at the end of each episode.
Create a buzz around upcoming episodes by teasing your audience with a short audio snippet, sharing fun facts about the topic, and what they will learn if they tune in. Harness the power and reach of social media to let your followers know about your podcast. Don’t be shy about sharing your podcast more than once - the social media landscaping is overflowing with content, and it is more than likely that some people will have missed your original post.
A podcast should be like a pop song - it should be playing on all stations. Make your podcast available on all main directories, such as Google Podcasts, iTunes, Spotify, SoundCloud, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podbay and Podtail to make it easier to find for your audience.
Repurpose podcast content
It takes a lot of time and effort to record a podcast. Repurpose that content and publish it across different mediums to make the most of it. Write a blog post using key takeaways from your podcast, publish videos of your podcast recordings on YouTube, create social media posts using quotes from guests, and promote your other content within your podcast. Look at your content marketing engine as an ecosystem that supports each other and helps it thrive.
Starting a podcast is no easy feat - it requires a lot of time to build up your audience, and hard work to cut through the white noise. But with a little planning, commitment, and research, this could become your path to a regular, highly engaged audience. Check out the video below for more tips on podcasts that resonate, and the
Google Partners Podcast
for more marketing insights and these tips in action.
*Source: Podcast Insights
The new and improved Google Partners experience
Monday, October 1, 2018
Reading time: 2 minutes
The Google Partners program was built to offer our advertising partners access to industry events, trainings and tools to help boost their skill set. Now, all these benefits will be front and center in your
Google Ads experience
so you can easily access your company’s badge, specialization status and promotional offers right where you create and manage campaigns for your clients.
Your company’s Partners details can be found in the Google Ads manager account that was associated with your company’s Partners profile. There, you’ll find these three features:
Badge status
: All the information about your badge status, company specializations and certifications can be found here. You can also access badge assets and the new public company profile. Find out more about the Google Partner badges
here
.
Promotional offers
: This feature provides promotional offers for your eligible Google Ads accounts, and these can now be automatically applied. Select the auto-apply promotional offers option to take advantage of this feature. You can view all available promotional offers, and see what’s been applied in the last 90 days.
Company details
: Check this section to ensure company details like name and location are up-to-date.
Explore and familiarize yourself with the new Partners program section in your Google Ads account and find more information about the changes
here
.
Follow us on Twitter
@googlepartners
for the latest updates. See you online Partners!
The future is diverse
Friday, September 28, 2018
Reading time: 5 minutes
Our lives are more connected and intertwined than ever before. Togetherness, inclusion, and emphasis on equality for all are paramount, and the workplace is no exception.
Although many organizations are championing inclusion and diversity in the workplace, the numbers show that only
11% of Creative Directors
are female, less than
6% of the advertising industry is black
, and the number
is actually declining
(Think with Google).
Promoting diversity in the workplace isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s also good for business. Diverse teams are proven to be more innovative and creative, not to mention the tangible financial benefits it brings. Despite the clear benefits, the industry still has a long way to go.
So what can you do to ensure you’re promoting diversity in your agency too?
Build a diverse team
The first step is to seek out different mindsets. To create advertising that resonates with the vast diversity in the marketplace, we need to seek out and hire talent that truly understands different cultures. So, we asked our partners how they ensure diversity in their agencies and found that 31% focus on embracing diverse voices and leadership. After all, agencies with diverse talent can generate around
30% higher revenue
per employee (Deloitte Insights).
Diversity is not just about being colorblind or gender neutral - agencies need to start looking beyond educational backgrounds, age, and portfolios too. The focus should be on the raw talent in front of them instead.
It’s important to work on creating an industry that nurtures a culture of voice, where everyone feels comfortable speaking up. There’s little point in hiring diverse talent and then asking them to act like everyone else. By embracing different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, marketers are in a better position to gain valuable insights that can help them tell more inclusive stories.
The hiring process is just the beginning. Far too often the boardroom chairs are occupied by men, and we need to start asking what we can do to change that. It is on us to always ask questions and ensure that we are striving for equality for all, at all levels.
Culture of empathy, not sympathy
Inclusion and diversity have to be more than just a once-a-year initiative. Diversity is an action, but inclusivity is a culture, and an agency’s culture is shaped by the people at the top. It’s important to strive for diversity across all levels, especially leadership. Having different experiences and ideas in the room naturally leads to more creative and diverse solutions, and a culture of empathy and inclusion.
A culture of empathy is the ultimate goal, and the company’s culture is defined by its leadership. It is therefore paramount to have diverse leaders and mentors for people to turn to for guidance. Agencies must strive to create a sense of belonging and an environment where everyone feels comfortable. That’s the only way to truly embrace different ways of thinking, and understand the value of the insights that brings to the table.
Make diversity an integral part of your business and create actionable, good habits to harness the power of diversity. Make it a habit to show your employees you appreciate their efforts, and that their ideas are valued. This will help transform your workforce into an environment where everyone respects and appreciates the different styles, mindsets, and ideas. After all, a culture where diverse thinking is celebrated attracts talent, improves team morale and employee retention.
Tell relatable stories
We care about stories that represent who we are and where we come from more than ever before. 85% of women say that ads don’t represent their real lives because more often than not, they are portrayed in stereotypical roles. To create stories that tap into this underrepresented culture, agencies need to have a deeper understanding and empathy for the audiences they are trying to reach. Brands that represent different kinds of people in a realistic way can make meaningful connections with people that rarely feel a campaign has been made for them.
Hold yourself accountable
If truly multicultural marketing is our goal, agencies have to hold themselves accountable. As you continue to work towards a more inclusive culture, here are three tenets to help you stay on track:
Commit
- Diversity of talent must be at the core of everything you do. You must commit to striving for diversity every single day, and when your efforts fall short -- ask why. Not only is diversity in the workplace a moral obligation, it also has immense
economic value to businesses
(McKinsey).
Measure
- Data speaks louder than words, so be loud and proud about how diversity is making a positive difference in your agency. Once others see tangible proof and the impact diverse talent can have, they’ll follow suit.
Talk
- Diversity must be at the core of every hiring decision. Keep the conversation going about your efforts across all levels, and keep asking if you’re hiring talent that will push your creative talent to the next level.
Most importantly, agencies must be upfront when they’ve made a mistake and learn from it. Diversity is more than just an HR function, so agencies must take time to analyze their mistakes, so they know what they need to do moving forward.
Marketers are in a unique position to reshape the way we think and create positive change. The change won’t happen overnight, but every little step towards where we want to be is a step in the right direction.
Check out the video below to find out what other steps you can take to begin your journey to a more inclusive and diverse agency culture.
Building better client relationships
Wednesday, September 5, 2018
Reading time: 3 minutes
Strong client relationships can’t be built overnight; it takes time, effort, and dedication to develop them. But they’re also the cornerstone of any great agency.
Happy clients help you to:
Reduce churn - it’s far cheaper and easier to retain existing customers than it is to find new ones.
Improve loyalty - attract new clients organically through positive testimonials.
Reduce negative sentiment - unhappy clients are perfectly willing to share their poor experiences, and bad news travels fast.
In short, the more you put into your relationships, the more you’ll get out of them. But every client has their own unique needs, so one size never fits all. Luckily, there’s a few universal truths when it comes to strong communication. So follow these five steps to give yourself a solid foundation to build upon.
Be engaged
When you first meet with a prospective client, take the time to hear and understand what they’re hoping to achieve. Painting a complete picture of their goals and KPIs will help you offer a curated service that’s fully geared towards their needs.
Be responsive
Communicate openly, honestly, and quickly. Set an agency-wide target response time for all queries, to make sure each of your clients feels respected and valued. Avoid radio silence at all costs - even if you can’t give a detailed response immediately, get in touch to let them know you’re working on it.
Seek to understand
It’s difficult to juggle multiple clients, especially when you’re dealing with conflict. But in stressful situations, it pays to put yourself in their shoes to better understand their point of view. Ask questions about their business, and when you’re sending on reports make sure they have a strong emphasis on metrics they’ve identified as important.
Follow up
After every email exchange, phone call, or face-to-face meeting, make sure you follow up with a list of actionable points that you’ll be implementing going forward. This helps to set realistic and achievable results within an agreed-upon timeframe, and reduces the risk of crossed wires affecting your relationship. After every project, you should also follow up with a discussion on what went well, and what didn’t. These insights can then be applied to future projects to make sure you’re always delivering what your client wants.
Follow through
A missed deadline can have a severe impact on an agency / client relationship, so never make a promise you can’t keep. Push back on unrealistic asks, with valid reasons for why it can’t be done and an alternative solution. You always want to be accommodating, but work suffers when you’re in a race against the clock, and it’s important you always retain your client’s trust.
This honesty and openness can sometimes lead to short-term conflict, but the best agencies realize that conflict is forgotten quicker than disappointment. We even have stats to back it up! In a recent poll on Twitter, 39% of Google Partner agencies said that the key to strong customer relationships is to be engaged and follow up, while 32% highlighted delivering on commitments as their main priority.
We all have multiple clients, and it’s easy to forget sometimes that, very often,
you’re their only agency.
In giving you control of their online advertising, they’re trusting you with the keys to their business growth and development. If they’re confident in your ability to perform, that job gets an awful lot easier.
Take a look at the video below for more advice on building thriving relationships with your clients:
How to grow a small business
Wednesday, August 8, 2018
Reading time: 2 minutes
The spark that starts the journey
Every business has to begin somewhere. Where do you go for inspiration, and how do you find the right way to establish a viable new venture? How will you get from those first stages, huddled around notepads with coffee and dreams, to something more tangible on the road to profit?
The answer is, you can learn from those who have gone before. We’ve crowd-sourced advice from Google Partner agencies, ‘get up and go’ entrepreneurs and online experts, who’ve gone from ideation to setting up their businesses for real.
What are some of the themes they keep coming back to?
Believe in yourself and don't overthink
Take the first step and go for it. Like Colonel Sanders, you just have to keep believing, taking your own ‘chicken recipe’ around the country until you succeed. As Shanee Kirk, of Shanee Kirk Marketing, puts it: “Be brave, be fearless as often as you can. Get used to hearing “no” and keep pushing forward anyway. Don’t give up!”
Be flexible to go with the times
You do need to have a plan and stick to it and this will involve discipline and noting down your goals. However, in this digital/mobile age, businesses that succeed need to be able to change course and respond to new practices.
According to Joel Crump, via LinkedIn:
“Make a plan but don’t be afraid to stray from it. These days, it’s helpful to be agile and reactive, as technology continues to change our ways of doing business.”
Quick tips that linger
Our network of supporters at Google Partners also note apparent quick wins that can make a huge difference. Like making sure you have a good accountant and researching your target market. Sweat the small things, but dream big.
Get your business online with Google My Business
Turning conversations into sales
Wednesday, August 1, 2018
Reading time: 2 minutes
Is it the application of science or a sprinkling of magic that helps you convert leads into bona fide new agency business? We take a look at some of the tried and tested approaches that Google Partner agencies have put to work when turning warm leads into signed-up new clients.
Here are three top takeaways that can give you an advantage:
Do your homework about potential clients
It pays to find out who the clients are and do your research. Today, every company has a footprint online, and you’ll want to discover how they portray their brand on a variety of digital channels.
If they are doing social media right, the tone of their tweets will give you an insight into how they operate. Look at their website, company videos, anything they’ve published. Consider what works well. Also think about what doesn’t work, as this will give you a route into what your agency could bring to the table.
Always be closing
The sales mantra ‘always be closing’ suggests you should continually look to close a deal and check a client’s readiness to do business. With agency leads, more likely it’s the case that potential clients will let you know when they are ready. But they’ll need to understand the added value you offer first. Naturally, your agency will want to be seen as digital experts, so a tip-top landing page on your web domain is a great tool to show off your wares. Make sure your headline copy is punchy and engaging, and don’t forget to use clear and well designed case-studies to add credibility to your story.
It's not us, it's you
However you approach a prospective new client, one thing is paramount: be useful. You need to find out which area you think they could use some help in (having done your R&D), and tell them about a clear solution your agency can offer. No sales talk. They will want to hear about the most relevant things first and foremost. Then you just have to convince them that
you
are ones for the job.
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